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Sunday, February 21, 2016

Settling in

The past two weeks have whizzed by in a blur of night feeds, non-stop diaper changes (why do they always have to poop AFTER they fall asleep?), and the usual going-ons of home. Baby J arrived on the first day of CNY, and we were discharged on Wednesday. However, we were asked to see the PD and check her bilirubin levels on Friday. The levels turned out to be pretty high, so our PD advised us to have her admitted for phototherapy. Thus, it was back to the hospital for the girl from Friday to Sunday, and I opted to stay in as I wanted to nurse her direct.

We were finally back home again on Sunday, and it's been a week since. Our plan this round was to have my MIL help the hubby out with the older three, along with the chores and cooking. My mum offered to cook my confinement food, and my dad would pop by to help out with the boys. This way, I could just concentrate mainly on caring for the baby, since we did not hire a confinement nanny. However, my MIL only reached SG the day I went to the hospital to deliver (she was helping my SIL with her kids before that), and she was pretty jet-lagged, so it took awhile for her to get into the swing of things. The hubs took leave for the month of February, but he wasn't too used to having the shoulder the bulk of the chores, plus care for all three boys the entire day. Add to that sick kids and night wakings, and everyone was just really exhausted and the whole house was a mess!

Thankfully though, things are now settling into a more regular rhythm, and I'm thankful for all the help we've been getting from my parents and MIL. The hubby has been a trooper, bringing the older three out on his own, even though he's all tired out from all the night wakings and having to room in with them (I was sleeping in the boys' room all the way until I popped). He says he now understands why I can get so grouchy at the end of the day, and why I always get upset when he gets held up at work!

Meanwhile, sickness aside, the boys have been really sweet to their little sister! All three are always trying to pat her, and they take turns to sing or read to her. Junior J dotes on her like how he dotes on his youngest brother (oh dear, I have to find an alternative name for him now that he can no longer be referred to as Baby J here!), and Lil J is fiercely protective of her. When we were in the hospital, he got really upset whenever the nurses took the baby back to the nursery, and these days he's always patting her or showing her pictures of tractors in his books. He's still working out those big feelings of his, so we've been trying to be as patient as we can with him.

The one who's surprised me though, is the toddler (Ok, let's call him Small J for now!). We predicted that he would be the hardest hit with the changes, and would be the most affected by sibling rivalry. However, he's been nothing but gentle and sweet to his baby sister, always going to her cot to pat her. He keeps asking to carry her, and loves singing songs to her. This little boy is really quite the happy-go-lucky boy, and a ray of sunshine in our home.

After going home, I pushed myself to help out more for the chores as the hubby was really up to his neck at home. However, I learnt my lesson, since I woke up one morning with aches and pains so bad I could barely walk! Now, I'm learning to let go with regards to the messes and chores, and I'm trying to do less during this confinement period so that I don't overstrain myself.

I'm hoping to get back to our regular homeschool activities soon, and we've not done school for the past two weeks! Meanwhile I'm enjoying all the lovely perks of having a newborn in the family: the baby smell, the snuggling, and those little toes!

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